


incapable of faking sincerity...

by startswithhope



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Fluff, Friendship, Future Fic, Humor, M/M, marriage talk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-23
Updated: 2019-03-23
Packaged: 2019-11-28 16:07:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18210539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/startswithhope/pseuds/startswithhope
Summary: Stevie lets her feelings be known about Patrick and David getting married...





	incapable of faking sincerity...

He should probably look away, but it’s quiet and there isn’t much else to do, so staring at his boyfriend across the store as he meticulously checks that every label is facing out on every bottle seems to be the best use of Patrick’s time. David is in a zone, his mind probably elsewhere (thinking of new vendors or what sweater he’s going to wear to dinner) as he doesn’t seem to notice Patrick’s fond gaze.

“You’re gross,” he hears from behind him, startling a bit as he’d completely forgotten that Stevie was there, leaning against the wall behind the register with a bottle of wine she’s most definitely not planning to pay for.

Knowing what she’s referring to, he decides to play dumb, because bantering with Stevie is one of his favorite things.

“Pardon?”

Stevie steps around him to lean her hip on the counter, her head swiveling to David and back to Patrick with exaggerated flair. “You love him so much it makes my teeth hurt.”

“And that’s gross why?” Patrick questions, hiding his smile behind his hand as he leans down and props his chin into his palm.

Her eyes roll to the back of her head and she harrumphs under her breath. “Because....because cavities are bad and going to the dentist is...uh…” Her words trail off...

“You lost the plot a bit, eh?” Patrick chides, raising his eyebrow as she just shrugs and begins to peel at the label on the wine bottle with her short nail.

A companionable silence falls between them and Patrick’s eye search out David again, this time catching his gaze and they share a sweet smile.

“You’re gonna marry him, right?”

Stevie’s voice is quiet, but her words are loud, hitting him square in the chest like a wave hitting a taut sail.

Stammering a bit, he whispers, “Hopefully, yeah, but I’m still figuring out the moment to ask so if you could keep your voice down…”

“Oh come on,” she interrupts, “he’s planning his outfits for the week and isn’t hearing a word we’re saying. So...yeah...good. I just needed to make sure you were making that happen.”

Stevie looks back down at her wine bottle, frowning at the edge of the label she’s ripped off as if it is responsible for its own destruction.

Concerned, Patrick leans a bit closer, nudging her hip with the back of his hand as he asks, “You okay?”

Patrick watches as Stevie straightens, the mask he’s seen her put on during Cabaret rehearsals when she’s uncomfortable sliding into place. He’s thankful that he’s had time with Stevie to get to know her better outside of her friendship with David, as he now feels like he’s her friend, too, in his own right.

“Fine. I’m fine. I just want you two to be happy, that’s all.”

Lie.

Straightening, he decides to take charge of this situation. “Hey David,” he calls across the store, smiling as David seems to shake himself out of his internal world to look up. “We’re gonna go grab some tea from the cafe, want anything?”

“My usual, thanks,” David replies with a flourish of his ringed fingers, a big smile his thank you before he’s back to counting scarves on the rack on the wall.

Patrick walks around the counter, leading a confused and very prickly Stevie by the elbow out the door. She shakes him off as soon as they are outside.

“Did I say I wanted tea? I don’t remember anything about tea.” She holds her now stolen bottle of wine in the air as if to make a point of her drinking preferences.

“Yes, Stevie, you can take that bottle of wine. You are very welcome,” Patrick jokes, hoping to lower her hackles a bit so he can find out what’s really going on.

A small smile cracks through her facade as the wine bottle finds its home in her shoulder bag and she falls into step beside Patrick. Time to prod a little.

“You wanna tell me what that was all about back there?” he asks, voice quiet and reassuring, or at least he hopes it is.

He’s learned over these past few weeks that Stevie can be really closed off, but not all the time. When she’s comfortable, she can be quite direct. Unnervingly so.

She stops when they reach the sidewalk outside of the cafe, her eyes narrowing at him slightly as if she’s trying to make a decision. When her hand wraps around his elbow and she’s dragging him to the side of the building, he guesses that decision has been made. When they’re fully out of sight of passersby, she lets go of him and digs her hands into the flannel at her hips.

“I thought I was in love with him once,” she states, “...got all emo about it and everything. It was embarrassing. But I figured out that it wasn’t love, not that kind anyway, but I do still love him. A lot.”

“I know, Stevie,” Patrick murmurs, his affection for this woman growing ever stronger the more he gets to know her.

Stevie continues as if Patrick hasn’t spoken, as if this is a monologue she’s memorized (which is rather ironic considering she can’t get a single one of her lines right in Cabaret).

“I don’t know what love really means, but I see you and David and it makes me feel hopeful. Not necessarily hopeful for me, really, but hopeful that sometimes fate might be real and maybe that perfect person is really out there.” She stops and gives him a pointed look, waving her hand in his face in a way that reminds him so much of David that he finds his lips curling into a smile as she continues. “And before you get an even bigger head than you already have, I am not calling you perfect. You’re just...perfect for David.”

“He’s perfect for me, too,” Patrick replies, having known this truth since he listened to David’s rambling voicemails back on the first day they met.

“Hi. Yeah, I know that,” Stevie grumbles, “thanks for paying attention. So, I’m gonna need you to put a ring on that asshole over there, despite all the antiquated and hetero reasons for marriage. Not just because you guys deserve to be happy, but because we’ll be doing karaoke for his bachelor party and I’m getting it filmed this time for blackmail purposes.”

Patrick laughs out loud at that, pulling Stevie in for a hug that she fights for a second or two, her hands then gripping at the back of his shirt as she hugs him back. It’s brief, but meaningful.

As they walk together into the cafe, Patrick leans in to whisper, “You know I’ll be needing a copy of those videos, right”

“Oh, we’ll be playing them at the wedding.”


End file.
